Legend of Zhen Huan: Zhen Huan is reborn

106 Eight major crimes

(Hall of Mental Cultivation)

In the Hall of Mental Cultivation, with red candles lighting the sky and aroma wafting in the air, Yinzhen sat at his desk, carefully reading through the mountain of memorials.

Zhen Huan stood gently at the side, holding the ink cup lightly and slowly grinding the ink, adding a touch of quiet elegance to it.

"Please take a closer look. These are the eight major charges listed by the court officials against Yunzhen: disrespecting the emperor's authority, defying the late emperor's will, forming cliques, disrupting state affairs, blocking the way for remonstrance, beating court officials, harboring evil intentions, and abusing force. Each one of them is unforgivable and enough to put him to death," Yinzhen said in a deep voice.

"What he said is true, and he is not wronged. Does Your Majesty really want to punish him severely and sentence him to death?" Zhen Huan asked softly, with a hint of worry in her eyes.

"Even if the crime is unforgivable, I still need to forgive him, because I don't want him to bear the infamy of fratricide and be criticized by future generations because of him." Yinzhen's tone revealed helplessness and determination.

"It's really not worth it to do this for him." Zhen Huan sighed softly, her words revealing her understanding and regret for Yinzhen's decision.

"Considering that Prince Dun had made great military achievements in the past and had served the court for many years, and that we were brothers, I really couldn't bear to see his blood spilled in the palace and bring shame to the spirit of the late emperor." Yinzhen said slowly, "Therefore, I decided to show mercy and spare his death sentence, but he will no longer be honored as a prince, and will be demoted to a commoner, and will be imprisoned in the clan house for life. No one is allowed to visit him without my order."

"Then what will happen to Fu Jin, Princess Gong Ding and Bei Zi?" Zhen Huan asked with concern.

"They were also demoted to commoners, but I have shown sympathy and allowed them to continue living in Prince Dun's former residence. This is also the Empress Dowager's intention, and I hope it can alleviate their suffering a little." Yinzhen replied.

"Yun? Now that he has been brought to justice, the next thing is to eliminate his accomplices. This is the most important thing." Zhen Huan said.

"It is true that some court officials have submitted memorials urging me to impose severe punishments and severe laws to govern the country and prevent the recurrence of chaos. They also said that only by cutting the roots and punishing the nine generations of the clan can I establish my authority and warn the world." Yinzhen pondered for a moment and repeated the opinions of those ministers.

"So, what does the emperor think about this?" Zhen Huan frowned slightly and asked.

"What they said is not entirely unreasonable." Yinzhen nodded slightly, his tone revealing his careful consideration of this proposal.

At this moment, Su Peisheng walked into the palace steadily with several memorials in his hands and reported respectfully: "Your Majesty, the memorials from the northwest border have arrived. Please take a look at them."

Upon hearing this, Yinzhen smiled faintly and said softly, "Nian Gengyao's actions are quite quick."

Zhen Huan's eyes flickered as she took over the conversation, "Prince Dun's affairs are just gaining momentum, and Nian Gengyao's letter of greeting followed closely behind. I'm afraid he is trying to test the emperor's intentions and attitude."

Yinzhen shook his head slightly, as if he was already accustomed to such subtle games in the court.

He casually pushed the memorial to Zhen Huan and said calmly, "It's just a congratulatory memorial for the change in the celestial phenomena. It's all the same, nothing new. I'm too lazy to read it myself, so just read it to me."

Upon hearing this, Zhen Huan walked lightly to Yinzhen's side, took the memorial from his hand, gently stroked the cover with her fingertips, and then slowly turned a page.

Her brows were furrowed, a trace of worry flashed in her eyes, and she said softly: "Your Majesty, I am very worried. I dare not read out the contents of this congratulatory letter rashly."

When Yinzhen heard this, a trace of doubt and curiosity flashed in his eyes. He leaned forward slightly, and his tone was full of unquestionable majesty: "What's wrong? What kind of words make you so embarrassed? Show it to me."

Zhen Huan's expression became more solemn. She shook her head gently, and said firmly with a hint of pleading: "Your Majesty, this does contain words of treason. I am afraid that it will pollute Your Majesty's ears, and it is not appropriate for Your Majesty to witness it with his own eyes."

When Yinzhen heard this, a complex emotion flashed in his eyes. He leaned back slightly and leaned back on the chair.

After a moment of silence, he spoke again, with a voice that was unquestionable: "Give it to me. I know what to do."

Zhen Huan gently placed the memorial in Yinzhen's hand. Yinzhen took it, glanced through it quickly, then frowned and threw the memorial aside casually, with obvious dissatisfaction and anger in his tone: "The four words '朝乾夕提' were originally meant to praise my diligence in governing the country, but Nian Gengyao's congratulatory letter, with the illegible handwriting aside, actually reversed the four words to '夕阳朝乾', which is really disrespectful!"

Seeing this, Zhen Huan stepped forward and said softly, "Your Majesty, please calm down. Perhaps General Nian was just careless for a moment and didn't have time to examine the matter carefully, which led to this mistake."

Yinzhen's face was solemn, and he said slowly: "Nian Gengyao has always been cautious and not a careless person. This time he reversed the four words 'work hard in the morning and be vigilant in the evening', which was definitely not an accidental mistake. In fact, he didn't want to praise me with these four words in his heart. In this case, for his great military achievement in pacifying Qinghai, I also need to consider whether to reward him heavily."

"Before this, I have severely reprimanded him for his many inappropriate behaviors, and I have also encouraged him to be a minister of the country and not lose his integrity. However, he still relies on his merits and shows disrespect. This mistake is obviously intentional and must not be forgiven."

Seeing that Yinzhen was still furious, Zhen Huan hurriedly stepped forward, gently picked up the memorial that had been thrown aside, and gently advised: "Your Majesty, please calm down. There may be other hidden reasons behind this matter. It is better to circle out the disrespectful words and return them to General Nian, so that he can defend himself and give Your Majesty a satisfactory explanation."

Upon hearing this, Yinzhen frowned slightly, his eyes still showing some displeasure: "It's written in black and white, the evidence is irrefutable, what else can you say to justify it?"

Zhen Huan sighed softly and continued to persuade, "Your Majesty is wise and can see through everything, but General Nian has made outstanding contributions after all. If this matter becomes a big deal, it may hurt the dignity of the court. It is better to give him a chance to defend himself and let the court see the majesty's magnanimity. If he really intends to be disrespectful, it will not be too late to punish him severely at that time."

After Yinzhen pondered for a moment, he called out in a deep voice, "Su Peisheng."

Upon hearing the voice, Su Peisheng quickly and respectfully stepped into the hall and bowed, "Your Majesty."

Yinzhen held the memorial in his hand, his eyes sharp as a torch, and instructed Su Peisheng: "Send this memorial back to the northwest as it is, and make sure to hand it over to Nian Gengyao in person. There must not be any mistakes."

"Yes." Su Peisheng responded, took the letter, turned around and was about to leave.

Yinzhen continued, "In addition, pass on my decree to immediately dismiss Hu Qiheng, the governor of Gansu and a close confidant of Nian Gengyao, and transfer Na Tai, the acting governor of Sichuan, back to Beijing for further arrangements."

Su Peisheng's expression froze when he heard this, and he quickly responded, "I will do it immediately and will not let the emperor down."

After saying this, he hurriedly left the hall to carry out Yinzhen's orders.

(Yikun Palace)

"Zhou Ninghai, you must speak clearly and not hide anything." Upon hearing this, Nian Shilan's face turned pale in an instant, and his tone was filled with anxiety and uneasiness.

Zhou Ninghai bowed his head and answered carefully: "Your Majesty, General Nian presented a congratulatory letter to the emperor to express his congratulations on the astrological event. However, according to reliable information, the general seemed to have made an omission when writing this congratulatory letter due to his busy schedule and wrote the wrong word."

"What words?!" Nian Shilan's voice suddenly rose, her eyes full of shock and disbelief, as if she had heard an extremely absurd news.

Zhou Ninghai lowered his head and spoke in a soft but clear voice: "My lady, the general mistakenly wrote the four characters '朝乾夕提' as '夕阳朝乾'."

There was a hint of helplessness and worry in his words, and he was obviously aware of the serious consequences that this mistake might bring.

When Nian Shilan first heard this, he felt relieved, thinking it was just a harmless typo, so he let out a breath and waved to Zhou Ninghai, motioning him to stand up.

However, when she heard the words "But the emperor is angry", her face instantly became solemn again.

"What did you say? Is the emperor really angry?" Nian Shilan's voice was a little nervous and uneasy. She knew Yinzhen's character very well and would never let go of such disrespectful things easily.

Zhou Ninghai nodded and continued, "Yes, Madam, the Emperor was very angry when he saw the congratulatory letter."

"Where is the memorial?" Nian Shilan asked anxiously, with an ominous premonition in her heart.

"The emperor did not leave any comments on the memorial, but sent it directly back to the northwest." Zhou Ninghai answered truthfully. There was a hint of worry in his voice, and he obviously realized the seriousness of the matter.

When Nian Shilan heard this, her body swayed and she almost fell. She hurriedly held onto the chair and slowly sat down.

Seeing this, Zhou Ninghai hurriedly stepped forward and called out with concern: "Madam..."

Nian Shilan raised her hand to stop Zhou Ninghai from speaking. She closed her eyes, took a deep breath, and tried to calm her inner panic.

Nian Shilan's eyes were red, her voice was trembling, full of helplessness and worry: "It is true that things are different now. Last time, I was still my brother's retainer, but now the matter of Prince Dun has nothing to do with my brother, but the emperor's intentions are becoming more and more unpredictable. Now there is not even a red-letter approval. The meaning of this is really chilling."

Zhou Ninghai was extremely anxious when he saw this. He knew that the safety of General Nian was directly related to the prosperity and decline of the Nian family, so he quickly suggested: "My queen, you must think of a way for the general. You can't just sit there and wait for death."

"I am helpless now. I can only hope that my brother's loyalty can move the emperor and earn a little forgiveness." There was a hint of helplessness in Nian Shilan's voice.

She turned to Zhou Ninghai and said, "Go and test the emperor to see if he has time to see me. I will go to him in person to plead for my brother."

Upon hearing this, Zhou Ninghai quickly responded, "Yes, I will go right away. Your Majesty, rest assured that I will do my best to secure an opportunity for you to see the Emperor."

After saying that, he hurriedly retreated to carry out Nian Shilan's orders.